Can Prophylactic High Flow of Humidified and Warmed Filtered Air Improve Survival from Bacterial Pneumonia and SARS-CoV-2 in Elderly Individuals? The Role of Surfactant Protein A

Ata Abbasi; David S Phelps; Radhika Ravi; Joanna Floros

doi:10.3390/antiox10050640

Can Prophylactic High Flow of Humidified and Warmed Filtered Air Improve Survival from Bacterial Pneumonia and SARS-CoV-2 in Elderly Individuals? The Role of Surfactant Protein A

Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 Apr 22;10(5):640. doi: 10.3390/antiox10050640.

Authors

Ata Abbasi¹, David S Phelps², Radhika Ravi³, Joanna Floros^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia 5714783734, Iran.
² Center for Host Defense, Inflammation, and Lung Disease (CHILD) Research, Department of Pediatrics, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA.
³ Division of Anesthesia, Department of Surgery, Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System, 385 Tremont Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07018, USA.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA.

Abstract

In this opinion article, we discuss a serendipitous observation we made in a study investigating survival in aged mice after bacterial infection. This observation involved a non-invasive ventilation approach that led to variable and higher survival in male and female mice with different genetic backgrounds for the innate immune molecule, surfactant protein A (SP-A). We suggest that employing the best ventilatory modality, whether that be HFNC or another method, may augment the role of other factors such as SP-A genetics and sex in a personalized approach, and may ultimately improve the outcome.

Keywords: COVID-19; HFNC; innate immunity; surfactant protein A; ventilation.